Twilight and Shadow
by Numb3rsfan
Summary: During a picnic, Keith is bitten by a rattlesnake and Chris falls in to an abandoned oil well.  Miles from any town, how will the rest of the Partridge's get help to Keith and rescue Chris before time runs out?
1. Long Way Home

**Twilight and Shadow**

by

**Numb3rsfan**

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, possible AU with possible OOC connections

Disclaimer: I don't own the show The Partridge Family and am in no way affiliated with said tv show. This fic is purely for fun.

Long Summary: The Partridge's are heading home from a concert when they stop for a picnic. Shortly thereafter Keith is bitten by a copperhead rattlesnake and Chris who was exploring the area falls through some rotten boards that used to cover an abandoned oil well. The Partridge's are miles from any town. How will they get help to Keith and rescue Chris before time runs out?

Summary: During a picnic, Keith is bitten by a rattlesnake and Chris falls in to an abandoned oil well. Miles from any town, how will the rest of the Partridge's get help to Keith and rescue Chris before time runs out?

Chapter One: **Long Way Home**

Keith Partridge yawned as he drove the Partridge Family bus down a dirt road that would...in the long run...get them home to their comfortable house in San Pueblo California. They had just gotten through with four concerts in three days; what a nightmare, having to deal with a sound system that didn't want to work half of the time and the fact that on their first concert, a few rowdy kids had run up on stage and tried to play Keith's guitar, Laurie's piano and Danny's bass...while they were preforming.

Needless to say the parents of the children were embarrassed by their kids behavior, but the Partridge's were also slightly embarrassed by the interruption; the chuckling of the crowd not helping matters.

"How are you holding up?" Shirley Partridge; mother of Keith, Laurie, Danny, Chris and Tracy, asked her eldest son.

Keith shrugged; his hands still on the huge steering wheel. He had been driving for several hours now with no stops; not that he really minded.

"Okay I guess. A little stiff but eh..." he replied.

He heard Laurie put down a magazine...or was it a thin book? Before suggesting something that got a warm rise from everyone else.

"Why not stop for lunch mom? It's already 12 o'clock, plus I think Keith'll faint if he doesn't get some food in him. I can hear his stomach growling from back here." Laurie said.

Keith rolled his eyes and gave an unamused look in to the rear view mirror.

"Har har." Keith replied, knowing that his growling stomach would be the cause for some 'playful' banter from Danny at some later date.

"Hmm, I think that's a good idea. Keith pull up over there." Shirley said, pointing to a large oak tree that was by a small river.

Nodding his head, Keith pulled the bus to a stop at the requested place; gripping the handle before pushing it to the right which opened up the door of the bus. He then put the brake on and shut off the engine, turning in the seat to watch Laurie gather up the large picnic basket while Danny, Tracy and Chris headed out. Standing up, Keith pocketed the keys to the bus just before his mother handed him the large blanket that they would spread out on the ground.

For once Keith was glad Reuben wasn't there; not wanting to hear the older man complain about not wanting asphalt or some other such rock in his meal. Once was cute; twice was annoying and three times...well...it was getting old in a big hurry.

Heading out of the bus, Keith took a good look around. There really wasn't any good place to set up 'camp' in the immediate area; perhaps down near the water there would be an open, grassy spot?

Heading down the embankment at an angle, Keith spotted the perfect spot no more than a half block away.

"Laurie, over here." Keith called, knowing Laurie had the more important things in her hand; namely the food and drinks.

He waited until Laurie had caught up to him before leading the way to the small patch of grass near the embankment; unfolding the blanket and setting it down once he got there.

Going back to the bus, Keith quickly grabbed his guitar and headed back out. By the time he got back he saw that the others were already on the blanket, watching as Shirley got out the sandwiches, salad and drinks which was just water. Where Shirley had found the time to make the sandwiches and salad none of the kids knew or cared; they were all hungry.

Waiting his turn to grab some food, Keith sat back on the blanket; his guitar in his lap. Glancing at the frets, he placed the fingers of his right hand on the correct frets, before strumming the opening chords to _Somebody Wants to Love You._ As he began to mumble the opening verse, he heard Danny whistling along and Laurie and Shirley also humming along.

Glancing up, Keith couldn't help but grin at them. While Danny wasn't a good whistler, you wouldn't know that especially when Keith's guitar was practically drowning him out.

"Alright kids eat up so we can get back on the road. We want to be home before nightfall." Shirley said, sitting back on the blanket. She watched as Keith, Danny and Chris grabbed at the food first, followed by Tracy and Laurie. When they all had a plate of food and were slowly munching on it, Laurie looked up at her mother.

"Why nightfall mom? What's so important about nightfall?" She asked.

At first Shirley was confused; not knowing what Laurie was talking about. When she recalled her earlier comment, Shirley nodded her head and swallowed what was in her mouth.

"I heard the earlier weather reports before we left Las Vegas. A big storm system is supposed to hit the surrounding area stretching all the way from San Pueblo to the Nevada desert. I didn't want us to be caught in it. The weatherman said there is supposed to be damaging hail and a chance of tornadoes." Shirley said.

"Tornadoes? Here in California?" Danny asked.

Tornadoes in California were a real rarity, hardly ever being heard of; they just didn't happen. To even have the threat or tornadoes, the storm system must be a bad one! Normally tornadoes formed in Tornado Alley, namely Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, eastern South Dakota and the Colorado Eastern Plains.

"I was as shocked as you are Danny, but that's what the weatherman said. While I doubt we'll actually see any tornadoes, I don't want Keith or anyone else driving in softball size hail." Shirley said. Hearing the predicted size of the hail, Danny's eyes lit up with expectation. Serious storms were a real rarity in California, and when they did happen he was almost always close by studying the rain and lightning; he liked lightning and thunder.

"Cool!" he exclaimed, a smile on his face. Shirley sighed and shook her head. Her son and storms!

"Not cool. I for one don't want to be around when the hail hits." Laurie said after she took a swig of her water.

"Oh come on Laurie, you just can't appreciate the beauty of nature." Danny said. Keith had to chuckle at Danny's choice of words. Since when did Danny care about nature?

"Beauty of nature huh? You wouldn't know the beauty of nature if it bit you on the..." Keith began, pausing when his mother cleared her throat.

Okay, that comment had been a little much. Seeing Danny giving him a look, Keith just put his water glass to his lips and took a sip. Shirley did allow Keith to badmouth Danny but only if it was in good taste, but Keith's latest comment was so far out there and disrespectful that it wasn't allowed.

The Partridge's then settled down and enjoyed the rest of their lunch. Once they all finished eating they listened to Keith play a few songs, including some he had just written before they had left home. They were all good; everyone had to admit they were real gems, though Keith apparently wasn't happy with a few of them; the look on his face telling the others that fact.

"Okay kids pack up." Shirley said after an hour of listening to Keith play. Nodding his head, Keith put down the guitar and helped Laurie and his mother package everything; leftover food and dishes in to the picnic basket. While Laurie took the basket back to the bus and Shirley folded up the blanket, Chris and Tracy ran off towards the hills on the other side of the road. Since they were probably going to be pulling out in the next few minutes, the two youngest Partridge's knew it was now or never if they were going to be able to explore the area.

Keith, wanting to clean his hands, moved towards the waters edge. He knelt down and dipped both hands in to the cool water, letting the waters flow remove the crumbs and small dab of mayo from his fingers. With clean hands, Keith splashed some of the cool water on his face before wringing his hands a little; small droplets of water falling back in to the stream.

He was making to stand when a sharp rattling noise stopped him. Freezing, hands in mid air he looked to the side. There, coiled up by his leg was a copperhead and it was mad! How had he not seen the snake? More importantly, why had the snake not used its rattle before? Keith would have backed away and left it alone, but with the snake so close to his ankle...Keith could do nothing but hold still.

However the snake wanted Keith gone; it saw Keith as the intruder and so it treated him as such. Launching out at Keith's semi exposed ankle, the snake bit down on the exposed flesh; it's fangs going deep in to the warm skin.

Keith let out a surprised yelp, falling back on to his butt and backing away when the snake let go and coiled up, ready to strike again.

"Keith? Are you okay?"

That was Shirley, having heard Keith yelp.

"Mom!" Keith called out in a genuinely frightened voice; the type of voice that scared Shirley to death. She hadn't heard that tone in his voice in a very long time.

Looking up towards the embankment, Keith was never more glad to see his mother than he was at that moment.

Looking around for the snake, it didn't take Keith long to find it. The snake had actually moved; coming closer to him now. Just what was wrong with the snake? Since when did they follow things that were bigger than they were?

Keith wanted to call out to his mother; warn her to stay away but he was afraid that if he did then the snake would strike again.

"Keith?" Shirley called again.

The snake was startled at the call; so startled that it struck out again, biting once more at Keith's leg. Keith attempted to grab the snake and he actually did but he grabbed it in the wrong place. The snake reared up and bit Keith's wrist. Keith yelped once more before flinging the snake in to the river.

By that time Shirley had reached her son. "Keith are you alright?" Shirley asked.

She didn't like the way her son looked; not having seen the snake she had no idea what had happened to him.

When Keith shook his head no in answer to Shirley's question, Shirley's worry meter began to go off.

"I got bit by a rattlesnake...twice." Keith said in a shaky voice. He showed his mother the bite on his hand and then his ankle.

Shirley was quiet for just a moment. It was impossible! Keith couldn't have been bitten by a snake; it just couldn't happen, but the small, pinprick dots and the swelling skin told her otherwise.

Okay what to do, what to do? Attempt to suck out the poison or bleed the area? No good. Who knows if she'd just make things worse. No the best thing to do was let a professional doctor deal with it, but the nearest hospital was at least forty minutes away; in San Pueblo.

"LAURIE!" Shirley shrieked. When Laurie came over, Shirley didn't explain anything to her daughter. Instead she just instructed her to help Keith towards the bus. Standing up, Shirley saw that Danny was already in the bus; good...at least one of her kids was where they were supposed to be.

"CHRIS? TRACY?" Shirley yelled. When no answer came, she called again. Charging towards the bus, Shirley nearly ran in to her youngest daughter who had come running down the hill after hearing her mother's call.

"Mommy mommy!" Tracy said, running in to her mother's arms. "Tracy, go get Chris. We need to get Keith to the hospital now." Shirley said.

The tone in her voice told Tracy that her mother wasn't playing. Something was wrong with her oldest brother, but even so...getting Chris wasn't going to be as easy as all that.

"I can't go get Chris momma." Tracy said in a simple tone. Shirley, who had been turning back towards the bus asked, "What? Why not?"

"Because he's fallen in to a big hole. It's big and dark." Tracy said. Shirley thought her daughter was playing, so she told Tracy to get on the bus. Glancing back Shirley saw that Laurie had Keith up and was slowly moving towards the bus. Keith looked like he was going in to shock which wasn't all that surprising given the amount of venom he probably had coursing through his system, but that didn't make it any less dangerous.

Instead of obeying her mother, Tracy just shook her head and grabbed her mother's hands, tugging her towards the hill. "Follow me mommy!" Tracy called.

Sighing, Shirley decided that following her daughter would be the faster way to find Chris, so she followed Tracy up the hill. Just up top and through a thin layer of trees there was indeed a black hole surrounded by rotten boards and leaves; an old, chain link fence had been set up surrounding the area but it had been torn down by passersby and or the slow decay of time.

"Down there." Tracy said, pointing to the hole.

Shirley paused, slowly approaching the hole. When she got close enough to glance down she called out, "CHRIS?"

Shirley didn't dare stand on the broken boards, not wanting those to collapse as well because if they collapsed because Chris was standing on them, they would definitely fail if she stood on them.

In the back of her mind she hoped that Tracy and Chris were playing a game; that he wasn't down there, that he was hiding somewhere close by; trying to give his mother a heart attack but shortly after Shirley called out, a tiny cry shattered her heart.

"Mom! Help! Get me out'a here!"

Oh no! Could this day get any worse? Not only was Keith suffering from a rattlesnake bite but now Chris was stuck in some sort of hole; obviously abandoned.

What to do, what to do, what to do? Shirley knew she had no way to reach her son but she couldn't just leave him! And what about Keith? If they stayed Keith wouldn't get help. No one else could drive the bus! It was a damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario. Whatever choice she chose, one child would suffer.

The question was...which child would she choose?

_Author's Note: So I wanted to do another Partridge Family fic but didn't have any clue what to write about. Guess it kinda shows in this story. So like before; major cliff hanger. Does this story interest you? Should I continue it? Please read and review or PM me if you have any questions._


	2. While I Cry

**Twilight and Shadow**

by

**Numb3rsfan**

Chapter Two: **While I Cry**

By the time Keith reached the bus his face was covered in sweat. Danny who had been seated on the right side of the bus, just waiting for everyone else to board so they could leave, glanced out the window and when he saw Keith's face he stood up straight. Either Keith had dunked his entire face in the nearby stream or something was wrong; very wrong. Danny's worst fears were confirmed when he heard Laurie ask, "Danny, help me!"

Walking to the small set of stairs, Danny saw that Keith was breathing hard and he was turning pale even as Laurie was fighting to keep him upright.

"What happened?" Danny asked, reaching to grasp Keith's arm. He watched as Keith weakly placed his right leg on the first step of the bus but it was clear that was about all he could do...he was so out of it that even as he tried to step up, he fell against the steps.

The venom was taking effect awfully fast, a bit of it must have entered in to a vein, that was the only explanation that Laurie could think of.

"Danny, grab Keith's shoulders, I'll grab his legs. We need to get him in..." Laurie paused, glancing to the hills when she heard her mother cry out Chris's name. Now what?

"Laurie what's going on? What happened to Keith?" Danny asked. The tone of her brother's voice caused Laurie to look at him. It was clear that Danny was scared and that was something that normally didn't happen.

"He was bitten by a rattlesnake." Laurie replied softly. She hadn't wanted to tell Danny, knowing how he'd react to that news, but her brother needed to know the stakes, and true to her expectations, Danny dropped Keith's shoulders and backed up. At any other time the look on Danny's face would have been comical but now was the time to be serious!

"Danny! Grab Keith's shoulders! We need to get him in!" Laurie said sternly. Thankfully the tone in her voice caused Danny to snap out of his semi panicked mode. Returning to his brother, Danny knelt down and put his small hands underneath Keith's shoulders.

"Ready?" Laurie asked, seeing Danny nod his head a moment later. "Okay, One...two...three...lift!" she said.

As one she lifted Keith's feet and Danny lifted Keith's shoulders. Now that their limp brother was in the air, Danny backed up, going slowly enough that Laurie was able to carry Keith's lower torso and legs up the steps and make the sharp left turn in to the main isle of the bus.

"Keep going back, towards the back door." Laurie instructed. Danny did as instructed and moved back, passed the rows of bench chairs. Finally at the back of the bus, near the area where they stored their amps and large equipment, he got a nod from Laurie.

Gently the two of them placed Keith on the ground; Danny actually grabbing one of his jackets from his suitcase, placing it under Keith's head.

"Where's mom?" Danny asked just as Tracy boarded the bus; her young cheeks pink from exertion.

"Trying to get Chris out of big, dark hole." Tracy said in answer to Danny's question. Hearing her response, both Danny and Laurie looked at their younger sibling in shock. Just how big and bad was this 'hole?' Knowing Chris and Tracy, they could be grossly exaggerating the size of this hole...then again...the panic in mom's voice when she had yelled Chris's name seemed to lend credit to Tracy's 'big hole' theory.

"Do we have any rope?" Tracy asked.

That does it! If she was asking for rope then things had just gone from bad to worse! Rising to her feet, Laurie instructed Danny to watch over Keith. Normally she would have expected Danny to do just the opposite but Laurie was certain Danny knew the severity of the situation and would do as he was asked.

Stepping out of the bus, Laurie looked towards the hills, sighed and then started to run up the incline. She had no idea where her mother was so she began to yell for Shirley when she had made it up the incline.

"Mom! Mom!" Laurie yelled, looking both left and right.

She paused, listening for an answer; any answer. When none was forthcoming she yelled again.

"Mom!"

Third time must have been the charm because a little way's off she heard her mother's voice calling out to her.

"Laurie! Over here!"

Hearing the same panic in her mother's voice, Laurie booked it over in the direction the voice had come from. Crashing through some trees Laurie came upon her mother's kneeling form. She was near a hole that was in the ground, but not too close to it. Tracy's comment suddenly returned to Laurie's mind.

_~Oh no...please tell me Chris is not...~_ Laurie thought to herself, but her mother's question interrupted her thoughts.

"Did you bring some rope?"

Arriving at her mother's side, Laurie knelt down and gazed down in to the darkness of the hole, barely being able to make out Chris's blond hair.

He was a good fifteen feet down; small hands holding on to an old plank that was over his head; the plank being the only thing that was preventing him from falling further. The knowledge that if that plank failed or worse...if Chris let go then he would fall...that scared Laurie.

"Mom...there is no rope." Laurie said a moment later. Even if there was, Laurie knew that Chris wouldn't have been able to grab it anyway, but that knowledge didn't help the situation.

Now both Chris and Keith's lives were on the line in two separate ways. Keith's was thanks to the snakebite and Chris's was thanks to the hole and his curiosity.

Every minute that passed by the blood was flowing out of Chris's arms. Sooner rather than later the boy wouldn't be able to hang on and he would start to fall again. Time was against the Partridge Family and they knew it.

Laurie saw her mother close her eyes in dismay. What were they going to do?

"Mom...Keith is getting worse, he needs to get to a hospital soon." Laurie said. She didn't want to leave Chris down in that hole, especially with his current situation but the fact was that Keith was going to die without help, but what about Chris? _He_ could die if they left!

"Mom! I'm slipping!"

Chris's tiny voice sounded from the hole, causing both Shirley and Laurie to lean over just enough that they could see him. Hearing the panic in her son's voice but not being able to touch him; to comfort him was torture for Shirley; just plain torture.

Trying to stay brave for her youngest son, Shirley said, "Hang on Chris, we'll get you out!"

Laurie was about to echo her mother's confident answer to her brother but instead of speaking words of confidence, Laurie simply shrieked "CHRIS" when she saw one of Chris's hands slip off of the board.

Now it was only one hand; five fingers that separated Chris from the effects of gravity...and that hand was slowly slipping as well.

"Momma...help!" Chris shrieked out, looking up in to his mother's eyes. Now more than anything he wanted to feel his mother's arms wrapped around him; protecting him. But now his mother and safety looked more than a thousand miles away; so close and yet so far.

When Chris's left hand slipped and he started to fall once more, Shirley instinctively reached down in to the hole. In the back of her mind she knew that her arms were too short to be able to latch on to her son; not only that but she was putting herself in danger as well. Dimly she was aware of Laurie latching on to her; preventing her from falling in the hole as well.

"MOMMAAAAA!" Chris shrieked, his voice getting lower and lower as he fell. Shirley had tears rolling down her face as she yelled "CHRIS!" back to her son. Suddenly Chris's shriek was cut off; he must have hit bottom and since Shirley didn't hear any kind of splash she feared that her youngest son had impacted a hard surface and was now dead.

Laurie herself was in shock. She couldn't believe she had just witnessed that; the death of Chris. He was so young and so full of life and now it had been taken and snuffed out.

Laurie barely registered the tears rolling down her face since her mother's hysterical sobs were drowning out her own sobs.

Knees shaking, Laurie got her mother on to her feet and led her away from the hole and towards the bus. Shirley was in no shape to drive; course neither was Keith and no one else knew how to drive at all; let alone drive a stick shift bus!

It took them a good ten minutes to reach the bus and get in, and by that time storm clouds could be seen on the horizon; the storm was most obviously coming in.

"Mom?" Danny and Tracy asked in unison, seeing the shocked and saddened look on her face, "Where's Chris?"

They watched their mother; as if on autopilot, take the seat behind the driver's seat and place both hands over her mouth and nose; obviously trying to hold her emotions in check.

"Chris...is..." Shirley began, but she wasn't able to get it out; her mind not even wanting to believe it. She shook her head, her voice still wracked with sobs. "I can't...I can't..." she bellowed, her shoulders shaking.

Swallowing, Laurie sat down beside her mother and held her; it being the least she could do.

"Danny...Tracy...Chris is dead." Laurie said, her own voice faltering yet stronger than Shirley's.

When Laurie said that the bus became so quiet that would could have heard a pin drop; in fact several crickets that were outside were then heard; quite loudly in fact.

A loud thump was heard at the back of the bus. Laurie, Danny and Tracy looked in that direction and saw that it was Keith. He must have been awake and he must have heard Laurie's statement because tears were rolling down his sweat covered face.

Eyes going to Danny, Laurie gave a small jerk of her head, indicating that Danny should come over to her. Understanding the jerk of his sister's head, Danny did indeed approach Laurie who stood up and allowed Danny to sit down next to his mother.

Danny knew that Laurie expected him to try to comfort his mother but what could he do? What could he say that would make any difference? Besides, normally he wasn't the comforter; that was Shirley's job! Danny was more of the antagonist but now he was expected to put that aside.

Looking back behind him, Danny watched Laurie go over and kneel down next to Keith who was still crying.

He mumbled something to which Laurie shook her head and said, "It's not your fault. Don't go blaming yourself."

Laurie must have reached in to Keith's pockets because the jingle of keys was then heard. Laurie stood up and headed for the driver's seat.

"Uh...Laurie what are you doing?" Danny asked, having a feeling he knew exactly what Laurie was planning.

"I am going to drive the bus to the hospital. How hard could it be?" Laurie asked.

Danny's eyes grew as big as saucers. Images of the bus flying down the road like a rocket or worse, jerking every few feet or worse...crashing, came in to his mind.

"But you can't drive!" Danny shot back.

Sitting down in the driver's seat, Laurie fitted the key in to the driver's seat.

"Do you have any better suggestions?" She asked. When nothing else was forthcoming from Danny, Laurie turned the key and fired up the engine on the bus. There was nothing to it right? Keith and Shirley made it look easy; surely Laurie could drive the bus as well...right?


	3. A Stroke of Luck

**Twilight and Shadow**

by

**Numb3rsfan**

Chapter Three: **Stroke of Luck**

Laurie did in fact somehow manage to get the bus moving but to her it was like trying to drive a whale; steering was difficult and slowing the bus down...nigh impossible...and the actually shifting in to the different gears...lets just say that the sound of grinding gears was played at least twice every minute.

Shirley was still seated right behind Laurie; her arms wrapped around herself and her head leaning against the window; vacant eyes staring straight ahead. Danny was with Keith, who hadn't moved since Laurie had started to drive, and Tracy...she was sitting in the third seat to the right; knees brought up to her chest and her head buried in her knees; looking like a human ball.

If the situation wasn't dire, Laurie would of actually liked the driving experience...somewhat. At least Danny wasn't yammering on and on about what a terrible job she was doing; she knew it and she was sure Danny knew it too.

"Laurie, hurry! Keith's getting worse!" Danny said. Dimly, Laurie could hear Keith murmur, "I'm all right." It was obvious to Laurie that Keith was just trying to be brave for the sake of the family unit but the truth was he wasn't okay; far from it. His life was in danger and without some anti-venom he would probably die.

Laurie gulped when she saw a tight hairpin turn up ahead. The turn was very sharp and at her present speed she'd just end up flipping the bus. Easing her foot off of the pedal, she applied the brakes, feeling the bus start to slow down. Even so she misjudged the distance to the turn. Hands working the steering wheel frantically Laurie managed to not flip the bus over, but the bus ran off the road, crashing through some bushes before running almost full steam in to a boulder.

The speed of the impact was enough to jar Laurie's neck so bad that she yelped in pain; a whiplash quite possible. Hand going to her neck, Laurie grimaced; trying to rub the kink out before turning in her seat to check on the others.

Somehow Shirley still remained upright; still quite obviously in shock. Tracy was on the floor crying because of the crash and Danny...he was on the floor literally gripping Keith's shoulders and holding on to one of the boxes that contained the heavy speakers with his free hand.

"Everyone alright?" Laurie asked. She rose up from the seat, ignoring the steam that was coming from the outside of the engine. She went first to her mother, studying the older woman closely. Shirley looked unscathed except for her vacant eyes. Losing a child, especially your youngest was hard but the fact of the matter was that Shirley couldn't stay like that forever; she had four other children that still needed her. However it was clear to Laurie that Shirley; her mother had basically shut down; her mind still trying to process the latest events.

Rising from her seat beside Shirley, Laurie went two seats down and knelt on the floor next to Tracy who was balling her eyes out; shaking like a leaf. "Tracy, everything's going to be okay." Laurie soothed, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder. Tracy lifted her tear stained face to look at her sister. Those calm looking eyes and the comforting hand was more than little Tracy could stand, so without a word she just flung her small arms around Laurie; not letting go.

Tracy was a young lady, but even so she wasn't a baby. Sighing, Laurie forced herself to pick up her sister; cradling her against her thin chest. Still kneeling on the floor, Laurie shifted a little to get a good look at Keith and Danny. Keith was sweating bullets; eyes shut yet wracked with pain all the same. Danny was white a sheet, obviously scared out of his mind. His quick thinking had been the only thing that had kept Keith from sliding down the isle when Laurie had crashed the bus.

Now what were they going to do? Shirley for all accounts would be no help. Tracy couldn't be left alone and Keith...he was still injured and fading fast and the nearest hospital was still at least thirty five minutes away; and that was driving! Who knows how long it would take to get there on foot!

Inside Laurie was panicking, not really sure what to do. She was half tempted to have just her and Danny carry Keith towards the hospital but that would mean leaving Shirley and little Tracy behind. Something like that would be very traumatic to a young girl like Tracy and Laurie didn't have the heart to do something like that. Driving the bus was out of the question; the front end was smashed and steam was still pouring from under the hood; the smell of boiling coolant filling the air.

Biting her lip, Laurie looked from Tracy, to Danny, to Keith and then to her mother. She had to make a decision; Shirley couldn't make it for her.

"Alright, this is what we are going to do. Danny, you and I are going to carry Keith. Tracy you are coming with us but you will have to keep up. I can't carry both you and Keith. Okay?" Laurie asked.

Even as she felt her sister nod her head, Danny was shaking his head. "Laurie, the hospital is miles away, we'll never make in time!" he exclaimed.

"Danny if there is a chance that Keith'll hold on till we get there then we have to take it. Now I am going to need your help. I can't carry him on my own." Laurie said.

She saw in Danny's eyes that he saw Keith as good as dead but he eventually nodded his head; the agreement to help sealed.

Letting go of Tracy, Laurie rose to her feet, turned around and went back to the front of the bus, opening the door to the outside. Returning to Keith, she knelt down and grabbed his legs while Danny grabbed Keith's shoulders.

On the count of three they lifted their brother in to the air and carried him out of the bus; Tracy guiding their steps until they were outside.

"Okay now...we have to hurry, come on." Laurie said, picking up the pace; forcing Danny to half jog to keep up. "And hope we find a car!" he shot back.

Danny knew that only a passerby would be able to save Keith's life. If they had to make the trek on foot it would take hours if not days to get there and by that time the venom would of already run it's course. Besides, it had been at least fifteen minutes and already Keith was slipping away from them.

"All the more reason to hurry!" Laurie replied.

Tightening her grip on Keith's legs, Laurie trudged on with her sister right beside her. As she walked, Laurie tried to block out the tragic events, not wanting to think about them but that scene with Chris losing his grip on the wood kept playing over and over in her mind; the scream echoing like a gun shot.

Chris sounded so scared and when that scream so abruptly cut off...it was like the ending of a bad 'B' movie.

Laurie didn't realize she had tears running down her face until Tracy pointed them out. Being unable to wipe them away, Laurie just put on a brave face for her sister. Breaking down now wasn't going to happen; it couldn't. Keith and the others were depending on her to see them through; and she would...she had to!

They walked for what seemed like hours; the hot sun beating down on them. Keith had stopped sweating and had gone limp; thankfully he was still breathing but he was very very pale and his skin was cool to the touch.

Even as she continued to walk, Laurie knew that Keith wasn't going to make it. They were taking way too long and he was just slipping away from them. At least he was unconscious and not in pain...or was he?

"Laurie! Laurie look!"

That was Danny. Lifting her eyes back to the road, Laurie saw a middle aged man placing a tire iron back in to his pickup truck. It was one of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen; perhaps...just perhaps they had found a ride.

"SIR!" she yelled, hoping to get the man's attention but the man simply began to move towards the driver side door, acting as if he hadn't heard her yell.

"Come on Danny, we have to hurry," Laurie said to her brother, and with renewed energy the three kids began to run towards the truck.

"WAIT MISTER! HELP!" Laurie yelled at the top of her lungs. She saw the man open the driver side door before pausing, turning to look in their direction.

She saw the quizzical look on his face turn to a look of surprise and worry. The man jogged towards them, obviously concerned.

"What happened?" He asked as soon as he had caught up to the kids. "Please you have to help our brother! He's been bitten by a rattlesnake!" Laurie said to the man.

The man took one look at Keith before picking the teen up, putting Keith over his shoulder. "Follow me." he said.

Glad that they had found someone that would help them, Laurie, Danny and Tracy followed the man to his truck. Once there they found out that the man was an off duty firefighter paramedic from LA. Standing side-by-side, the three kids watched the paramedic put Keith in the truck and take a quick set of vitals before setting up a canister of oxygen; hooking up a mask to the canister and placing the mask over Keith's mouth. That was the most he could do because the paramedic had no other equipment with him; no IV's no nothing except the air canister.

"Come on get in, let's go." The paramedic said, ushering the kids in to the bed of the pickup since it was only a two seater to begin with. Danny, Laurie and Tracy needed no further encouragement. Danny jumped up in the bed and helped Tracy up; Laurie following once her two younger siblings were in.

With the three kids secure in back and his patient also secure up front, the paramedic jumped in to the driver seat, fired up his truck and roared off towards the nearest hospital. Time was of the essence; Keith was slipping fast. Even the paramedic was fearing that his patient would die before they reached the hospital.


	4. Arrival at the Hospital

**Twilight and Shadow**

by

**Numb3rsfan**

Chapter Four: **Arrival at the Hospital **

"_CHRIS!"_

That was the last thing young Chris remembered before everything went blank. He remembered seeing the look on his mom's face seconds before it became too dark to see anything. Chris also remembered Laurie being there...good old Laurie.

With a small groan Chris managed to open his eyes. He found himself lying on his side. His entire right side behind submerged in a cold, dark liquid. At least it was dark to his eyes because there was absolutely no sun light...or any light down there. From the smell of it the liquid wasn't water...or oil...it was something that was old, that was for sure but Chris couldn't place just what it was and he wasn't just about to taste test it either!

As his body began to wake up, so did the pain. His entire body was wracked with it. Even though he couldn't see his right leg, he could feel that it was bent at an angle that wasn't good. His right arm was badly bruised and hard to move but Chris didn't think that anything was actually broken.

When he tried to put weight on his left arm, so he could at least sit up he yelped and hissed with pain. Using his right hand he felt along his left arm until he found something bulging that was literally sticking out of his skin. Something was actually embedded in his arm! Okay that was so not good!

Looking up, he took a deep breath and yelled "MOM!" at the top of his voice. He paused, waited and listened for several seconds but didn't hear any reply, so he yelled again and kept yelling for what seemed like hours, but there was never any reply. It was then that he began to get worried. Images of his mother and siblings actually leaving him behind flooded his young mind. What was to stop them from leaving him? If they all thought he was dead or something then...

they were gone...they had to be. Chris was alone.

That feeling of loneliness crept over him then. More than anything Chris wished he was at home right then. Sitting on the edge of the couch, watching a movie with his sister Tracy; really the only member of the family that was actually close to his age. While he loved Danny, Laurie and Keith well...they were older and couldn't really relate to him and his likes and dislikes.

Slowly Chris felt his lip begin to quiver. Not in pain but in sadness. He was sad and lonely, not a good combination at all. He felt hot tears trickle down his cheeks; tears that he wished his mother would wipe away, but Shirley wasn't there; he was on his own.

Suddenly something slightly warm yet wet hit his arm where it almost immediately cooled. Looking up in to the darkness, Chris felt something similar hit his face not once but twice...three times...no four times. What was it? He felt the droplets hit his head, arms and shoulders but without a light he couldn't tell what they were. Then he remembered...the storm. His mother had mentioned a storm and now it was just beginning...oh great. If there rainfall was going to be real bad then it was possible that the well he had fallen in to would fill up and he would drown, and with his leg broken and his arm mostly out of commission...they was no way he could swim let alone tread water for very long.

Biting his lip, he took another deep breath and yelled at the top of his voice "MOM!"

_#######_

Young Tracy clung to Laurie who had her own arms wrapped around her younger sister. They had been riding in the back of the pickup truck for a good twenty minutes now and now they had just entered in to the city of San Pueblo; their home town. While the actual city outskirts weren't that familiar to the kids, once they hit Taft street then they would know where they were, but wherever the hell Taft street was from their location none of them had a clue.

Danny sat near the window that let him get a view in to the cab. He saw that Keith was still out and he was still sweating like bullets. He watched the paramedic check Keith's pulse every five minutes...almost on the dot! It was obvious that the paramedic was well trained because to Danny it certainly looked like the man knew what he was doing.

Once they hit the city limits however they picked up a police tail; the familiar sirens and bubble lights flashing red were seen as the police car pulled up behind the truck. At first Laurie thought the man was going to pull over but after a quick glance in she saw that the man had a CB radio and was using that to talk to the police officers. At first glance Laurie thought the officers weren't going to believe it, but when the police car pulled up along side the driver's side door they must have recognized the paramedic because they then pulled in front of the truck and effectively provided a police escort all the way to the San Peublo Memorial Hospital.

Upon arrival to the hospital, the paramedic pulled his truck in to the Emergency entrance which was normally for ambulances only, but Keith's situation was dire. The police officers who had more or less beaten him there had already contacted the hospital so two doctors, two nurses and a gurney were all set up and waiting when the truck came to a stop.

Danny, Laurie and Tracy hopped down out of the truck and watched as the doctors and nurses swarmed the passenger side of the truck. The two doctors immediately getting a set of vitals on Keith as well as issuing orders for scans, drawing blood and tests. Then they stepped back allowing two orderlies to actually get Keith out of the truck and on to the gurney before the small parade of men and woman in white rushed in to the hospital, pushing the gurney in front of them.

Danny, Laurie and Tracy followed along as did the paramedic who was explaining what he had done for his patient. When the doctors pushed Keith's gurney in to a treatment room, Danny, Laurie and Tracy tried to follow but the head nurse who was at the nurses station at the time, stopped them and as gently as she could, stated that they would have to wait outside of the treatment room.

At first the head nurse was just going to have them wait in the waiting room but something caused her to feel a little sorry for the children so she led each of them to the nurses lounge which was normally reserved for nurses, doctors and the paramedic units that operated out of the hospital. When the head nurse entered in to the lounge, she was grateful to find it empty; devoid of doctors and nurses.

"Take a seat." She said to the kids. Slowly and wordlessly the three children took seats around a circular chair.

Being mindful of their age, the head nurse went to the fridge and pulled out three soda's and handed them to the children before she fixed herself a cup of coffee and took it to the table as well; pulling up a chair and sitting down on Laurie's other side.

"Now..." the head nurse began with a sigh, but before she could even begin any sort of conversation, Laurie spoke up.

"Is my brother going to be alright?"

The head nurse looked up at her. It was a question she had heard since day one of working at that hospital and it was a question she knew that she was going to hear many, many more times in her career.

"Well, he's in the best possible hands right now. I can tell you that we will do everything we can for him. Now...how about a little introduction hmm? I'm Nurse Shannon and you are...?" Head Nurse Shannon Rainer prompted.

"Laurie...this is my younger sister Tracy and that's my brother Danny." Laurie said. She knew that Shannon was right; introductions were probably necessary in this case. Eying the nurse it was clear from the look on her face that she had heard of them before; honestly though, who in San Pueblo hadn't heard of them?

"Laurie...Tracy and Danny...so your older brother must be Keith right? You all must be the Partridge Family then. Where's your mother?" Nurse Shannon asked.

Ahh...where was their mother...yes that was the million dollar question wasn't it? Danny, Laurie and Tracy looked at each other, neither of them wanting to tell Shannon what had happened.

After a moment though, it was Tracy who told Shannon a little bit of what happened. She told her about Keith's injury, Laurie crashing the bus and then their subsequent decision to leave their mother on the bus because she had been in shock...and then after all of that did Tracy drop the biggest bomb shell...the news about Chris.

Upon learning of what happened to the youngest male sibling of the Partridge Family, Nurse Shannon understood why their mother had shut down the way she did. Guilt, sorrow and anguish would do that to anybody.

Smiling to try and keep the children calm, Nurse Shannon rose from her seat and went to the red phone that was attached to the wall.

"About where would you say the accident happened?" Nurse Shannon asked Laurie.

"Keith got bitten by that little river about 40...50 minutes outside of town. The bus crashed ten miles down the road from there." Laurie said. She then watched Shannon pick up the red phone and place it to her ear.

The conversation was short and sweet and while Laurie couldn't understand the medical gibberish she understood enough to know that the nurse had spoken with the doctor who was to get in touch with the fire and police departments.

When the nurse hung up the phone, she returned to the table and told them that the police and fire departments would go out to check on Shirley as well as try to find Chris because if there was any chance that he survived the fall then they had to take it.

Laurie, Tracy and Danny were grateful for everything the nurse had done; each of them thanking her with a smile and a nod of their heads. They were all glad that their mother was soon to be picked up, they just each hoped that she was or would snap out of it when the police and fire departments reached her.


	5. Thief of Always

**Twilight and Shadow**

by

**Numb3rsfan**

Chapter Five: **Thief of Always**

In just four hours time many things had changed for the Partridge Family. Shirley; the family patriarch had been found exactly as she had been left in the bus, staring straight ahead. She had been taken to the San Peublo Memorial Hospital where she had been looked over for an ER physician. The doctor deemed that she was physically alright but she was still in shock, so he used some rather strong smelling salts. At first Shirley had no response to the smelling salts but after 30 seconds she returned to the land of the living. Then came the confusion. Confusion at finding herself at the hospital.

The attending physician explained to Shirley how she had gotten there and then had let her see her children who were gathered in Keith's room which was located in the ICU. While he was conscious, he was far from out of danger. With the length of time that he had gone without treatment, the venom could have done some serious damage, so he was being watched like a hawk.

Outside, the storm had started and had been going ever since Shirley had been brought in. The fire department had been close to calling off the search for Chris's body but after some coaxing by the hospital they continued on. Losing a child as young as Chris was was always hard for any family and if there was any way they could find let alone rescue the boy then they would do it.

Arriving at the co ordinates that had been relayed to the nurse, the fire fighters climbed off of their rig, dressed in turnout coats and helmets.

"Up there." the station captain instructed, pointing to the hill. Since the rain had been falling it had washed away any and all evidence of the bus ever being there so there really was no way to tell if this was the exact spot, and with the water rising...especially in the abandoned well, Chris was running out of time.

The Captain, his two firemen/paramedics and the two regular firefighters of the day shift climbed the hill while the station's engineer stayed with the rig. The hill was steep and slippery but somehow the firefighters managed to make it up without slipping, and once up they went ahead in pairs of twos. The hole...given if they were in the right place...could be anywhere, so splitting up would be faster.

The Captain stayed where he was, directing the two firefighters to go to the left and his paramedics to go straight ahead. The orders given, the Captain put his hands on his hips and watched his men move out.

It wasn't long before a call came over his handi – talky. A hole and been found; complete with old, broken boards, and there did appear to be a child down in the hole. That was enough of a confirmation for the Captain because he ordered Marcos and Stanley to go grab a length of rope from the rig and meet the paramedics, Denton and Cassidy at their location.

Walking forward, Captain Sheppard made his way through a set of small trees, spotting Denton and Cassidy kneeling next to...or at least as close to a hole as they dared. Both men were shining flashlights down in to the hole and shouting something that sounded like 'you'll be alright' in to the hole.

"What have you got?" Captain Sheppard asked once he was close enough to be heard over the rain. Brown hair and brown eyed Matthew Denton looked up at his boss with eyes that spoke volumes to the older man.

"We've got an eight year old victim trapped in a hole that's about fifteen to thirty feet deep. Judging by the way he looks he's been there for awhile. From what we can tell he's got a thick chunk of wood embedded in his left arm just above the elbow as well as numerous cuts and abrasions...but that's what we can see that's above the water. Who knows what other injuries he's got, Cap." Matthew reported.

Captain Sheppard leaned over and looked down the hole, getting his first glimpse of young Chris, who was just sitting there shivering. He looked like a drowned rat, that was for sure but more than that he looked tired and scared.

"How do you want to do this Cassidy?" Captain Sheppard asked the senior paramedic on his team. Brown hair and hazel eyed Joshua Cassidy looked up at his boss. He knew that Captain Sheppard meant the rescue of young Chris. They had found the boy but that was only half of the battle. Now they had to get him out of there without aggravating his injury. There was no time to dig another well, so that was out of the question. What else could they do?

"Since I'm the lightest, lower me down there and send a stokes stretcher, equipment and blanket down after me. It's the only way Cap. In another hour that water is going to be above the kid's head." Joshua said.

From behind Captain Sheppard, firefighter's Marcos and Stanley appeared, both carrying a good length of rope.

Nodding his head in agreement to Cassidy's suggestion, Captain Sheppard ordered Marcos and Stanley to bring the requested items; stokes stretcher, the drug box and an emergency blanket. Within seven minutes Joshua was strapped up so he could repel / be lowered in to the hole and not a minute later Marcos and Stanley returned with everything inside the stokes stretcher.

Taking his place at the side of the hole, Joshua made sure everyone was ready on his rope before lowering himself over the edge; plunging in to the wet darkness of the hole. Rain kept hitting his helmet, which was just getting a little annoying but he couldn't take it off, no matter how much he wanted to.

After what seemed like months Joshua was close enough to reach out and touch Chris, so he called up, "Alright I'm there. I'm going off rope."

Undoing the rope that was around the belt, Joshua dropped the short distance in to the cold murky liquid, landing right beside Chris.

Kneeling down, Joshua took in Chris's countenance. "Hey buddy, how are we doing?" he asked the boy.

Chris studying the firefighter for a moment, wondering if this was a dream or not, but when Joshua didn't fade from view, Chris knew that it was real. He was finally getting out!

"M'cold and I want to go home." he said through chattering teeth. While the rain itself wasn't all that cold, whatever they were standing...or in Chris's case...sitting in was rather cold and the boy had been there for several hours already!

"Well we'll see what we can do for you. Now, let me see this arm of yours." Joshua said, gently taking Chris's arm in one hand and shining a beam from his flashlight on it with his other hand. The chunk of wood that was embedded in the skin was thick, like something you'd find at a playground, but from the look of it it hadn't caused any major damage...yet.

Glancing up, Joshua yelled, "Send the stokes down!" Looking back down at Chris he could tell that the boy was scared. What the hell was a stokes and why was it coming down?

"Hey little man it's going to be alright. Here..." Joshua said as he removed his helmet and put it over Chris's head, "You can be my assistant. How's that sound? Now, I got down here alright but I am going to need a bit of help getting back up the hole, do you think you can help me?" Joshua asked. He just wanted Chris to relax and keep talking, and from the small smile Joshua got in reply to his request, he knew that Chris was finally relaxing...at least as much as possible.

"Now, how about you tell me your name kiddo?" Joshua asked. As he waited for Chris's response, he gently took Chris's left arm and cradled it gently. He couldn't just yank the wood fragment out because it would probably cause more damage if he did so, so the fragment would have to be supported and the arm wrapped before he could be brought up.

"C...Chris." Chris said through chattering teeth. Upon hearing the name, Joshua nodded his head, glad of the conformation.

Glancing up, Joshua grabbed the bottom of the stokes and helped guide it down. He couldn't put it down crossways because it wouldn't fit. Okay, getting young Chris in would be difficult and beyond that, no IV could be set up until they got him out!

Undoing the clasp and rope that held the drug box and blanket in, Joshua took the items and placed them on top of the cold liquid. At least it was thick enough; whatever it was that the drug box and blanket didn't sink to the bottom!

"Okay Chris, here we go!" Joshua replied. Bending down, he gently picked Chris up and placed him in the stokes. Because of the way it was situated, Joshua had to hold Chris in place with one hand while strapping him in with the other. When he was all strapped in, Joshua took his helmet back and went about wrapping Chris's arm; making sure the wood was supported.

After that was done he put a splint on his neck and a c-collar around the boy's neck. In hind sight he knew the c-collar should have gone on first but oh well...if he had done any damage it was too late to repair it.

All in all getting Chris packaged and ready to go took ten minutes, but after everything was done and the stokes was being raised to the surface, the rest of the rescue went quickly and smoothly. Up top Joshua's partner Matthew took charge of Chris while the others began to raise Joshua up from the well.

Matthew got in contact with the San Pueblo hospital and got orders from the doctor to start several IV's; mainly D5W TKO and normal saline, and transport as soon as possible. Once the IV's were set up, Matthew and Joshua walked beside the stokes stretcher while firefighters Marcos and Stanley carried the stretcher to the waiting ambulance that was down by the rig.

"I'll ride in with him." Joshua told his partner, climbing in to the ambulance was the stokes was secured to the regular gurney. Matthew nodded his head to his partner and handed him the drug box before he closed the back doors to the ambulance and gave the customary two slaps to signal to the ambulance attendants that they could take off. Two seconds later the ambulance did just that.


End file.
